Cajuns
Open New Facility with a 1-1
Tie in Double OT
Freshman
Erika Saffer scored the first goal at the new Cajuns
Track/Soccer Facility
LAFAYETTE – Louisiana's Ragin' Cajun
women's soccer team (0-1-1) opened their new soccer field at
the renovated Cajuns Track/Soccer Facility with a double
overtime match against Tulsa (0-1-1) that resulted in a 1-1
tie.
The Cajuns were the first to scratch
the scoreboard as Erika Saffer, a midfielder from Loveland,
Colo., took a pass from Lindsay Webb on the right side and
punched it in at the 24:22 mark.
“It is a really nice honor,” Saffer
said of registering the first goal scored at the Cajuns
Track/Soccer Facility. “The field is beautiful. We love
practicing here. It is just really nice to have our own
facility.”
The Golden Hurricane answered back with
their own goal in the second half. Jennifer Kacergis got a
pass from Jamie German off of a corner kick and slipped it
past freshman goalkeeper Stephanie Weston. It was a tough
break for the Cajuns as the ball seemed to inadvertently
bounce off of Kacergis' body.
UL had a chance late in the match to
pull out the win, as Taunya Geelhoed sailed the ball towards
the right corner of the goal. Tulsa goalkeeper Meredith
Hart made a diving stop – fully stretching to barely get her
fingertips on the ball – just before the ball crossed the
plain of the goal causing it to sail wide right.
For the match, UL managed just one goal
on 13 shots, with six shots on goal. Weston recorded seven
saves, including three match saving stops in the extra
frames, while allowing only one goal.
“I thought we did exceptionally well
today,” head coach Scot Wieland said of the Cajuns' home
opener. “We controlled things. We controlled the flow of
the game and I am proud of the team.
“We had some great chances and I have
to give credit to their goalkeeper,” Wieland added. “She
made some amazing saves.”
The Ragin' Cajuns played 110 minutes in
temperatures that pushed 100-degrees with a heat index of
roughly 110-degrees.
“We persevered for a 110-minutes in
this heat,” commented Wieland. “Towards the end of the
match, our fitness was not a concern of mine. We have
worked hard so I know that the fitness is there. I thought
we did well playing our game until the last second. I think
in the first overtime, they started to show a little
fatigue, but in the second overtime, they found a way to
overcome it. They played hard and I am very pleased with
their effort.”
Louisiana-Lafayette returns to the
field on Friday, Sept. 2, as the Cajuns play host to
in-state foe Northwestern State. The match is set to
kickoff at 7 p.m. and will be held at the Cajuns
Track/Soccer Facility.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
